Resource for a Recourse: Online Resource Center for Survivors of Abuse

CALIFORNIA : Restraining Order & Order of Protection Information

TYPES OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS
BENEFITS
COSTS
VIOLATIONS

Under California's Domestic Violence Prevention Act, you or your children under the age of 18 who live with you are protected from actual or threatened violence, such as:

Physical injuries;
Sexual assault;
Attacking, striking, or battering;
Molesting;
Harassing;
Stalking;
Harassing or threatening telephone calls;
Destroying personal property;
Disturbing your peace; and
Threatening to do any of the above.

Under the DVPA, abuse can be physical, sexual, or verbal. It can include spoken and written abuse.

You can file for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order if you, or your minor child, have been abused by:

A spouse or former spouse;
A person you are dating or used to date (it does not have to be an intimate or sexual relationship);
The mother or father of your child;
A person related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption (such as a mother, father, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or in-law);
A person who regularly lives or used to live in your home (but you must have a closer relationship than just roommates).

Note: Minors 12 years old or older can file for restraining orders without the assistance of a parent or guardian. Same-sex partners are also eligible to file for restraining orders.

Types of protective orders:

Emergency Protective Order

If a police officer responds to a domestic violence call, the police officer can call a judge (anytime, day or night) and ask for an emergency protective order, effective immediately thereafter.

An emergency protective order can last only five business days or seven calendar days (whichever is shorter). It is intended to provide you time to go to court to ask for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, a longer-lasting order. The emergency protective order can make the other person leave the home, stay away from you, and not see your children, at least on a temporary basis.

Temporary (ex parte) Restraining Order

When you go to court to apply for a restraining order, the clerk will give you a date, usually within three weeks, when you will have to come back to court for a full hearing.

If you are in immediate danger and need protection right away, you can ask for a Temporary (ex parte) Restraining Order, which will last for up to 15 days, or until you have your full-court hearing, which is usually three weeks. You can get this temporary order "ex parte", which means you can get it without your abuser being there.

Restraining Order After Hearing

After a court hearing, a judge can grant you a Restraining Order After Hearing that can last up to five years. This order is designed to keep your abuser from threatening, harassing, or abusing you.

You can ask the court later to have the order extended for another five years, or permanently. The court can make this extension if it believes you have a "reasonable" fear that your abuser will threaten, harass, or abuse you again once the first restraining order expires.

Note: There do not need to be new incidences of abuse in order to get the order extended.

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Benefits:

A Domestic Violence Restraining Order may:

Order the abuser not to assault, threaten, abuse, follow, harass, or interfere with you, your children, or people you live with in person, at work, on the telephone, or by other means;
Order the abuser to stay away from any place you request including your school, your children's school, your work place, your friends' homes, or any place where you are seeking shelter;
Prohibit the abuser from possessing or purchasing a firearm;
Tell the police to remove the abuser from the home and help you to return to the home;
Grant you temporary full control over things that you own together such as a car, a truck, a boat, a computer, tolls, electronic equipment, bank accounts, or household appliances;
Order the abuser to continue to make the loan payments (be sure to specifically ask for this if you need it);
Order the abuser to return your personal belongings;
Order the abuser to pay certain bills, pay back money you lost for missing work or other expenses (such as ambulance, medical, dental, shelter, counseling and/or legal fees);
Order the abuser to pay your attorney fees;
Order the abuser to attend a batterer's treatment program or other counseling service;
Anything else you ask for any the judge agrees to.

If you and your abuser have children together, you may also ask the judge to grant additional things such as:

Child custody and visitation - If you and your abuser have children together, the judge can decide where the children will live, which parent will make decisions affecting the children, and how the children will spend time with each parent (where, when, and whether supervised).
Removal of child - You may ask the judge to keep either or both parents from traveling or moving outside the city, county, area, or state with the children.
Child support payments - You may ask the judge to order your abuser to pay child support according to California's guidelines.

Whether a judge orders any or all of the above depends on the facts of your case.

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Costs:

There are no fees for filing for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order.

Although you do not need a lawyer to file for a DVRO, it may be to your advantage to find a lawyer, especially if your abuser has a lawyer. Even if your abuser does not have representation, it is recommended that you contact a lawyer to make sure that your legal rights are protected.

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Violations:

Violating a DVRO is against the law. There are 2 ways to seek action if your abuser violates the DVRO.

Through the Police or Sheriff (Criminal)

If the defendant violates the DVRO, call 911 immediately. In some cases, the defendant can be arrested right away. Tell the officers you have a DVRO and the defendant is violating it. Always have both a certified copy (that you got from the court clerk) of your Restraining Order After Hearing (CLETS), Form DV-130 (with any attachments) and your filed copy of the Proof of Service, showing that the abuser was served with the Restraining Order After Hearing (Form DV-140) with you at all times.

If the abuser is arrested and criminal charges are filed, you may be asked to go to court to tell what happened. It may be several weeks or months before the criminal case is called and you are asked to tell about what happened. It will be easier to remember things for your hearing if you write down everything that happened just as soon as you can after things calm down.

Through the Courts (Civil)

You may file for civil contempt for a violation of the order. The abuser is in "civil contempt" if he or she does anything that your DVRO orders him or her not to do. To file for civil contempt, go to the clerk's office.

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